I hate to say it but if you were to tell the council you have rats the first thing they would say is STOP FEEDING THE BIRDS

Regards

Mark

Paul D.Smith wrote:
£90.00 is a bit steep as the council ones look like they cost about
£5.00 and if I still have one, the original poster can have it for free.


Depends on what you're thinking of. Around here these are steel boxes,
about 12inches x 6inches wide x 3 inches high with two entrace holes and a
dark chamber, which is where the poison is placed. I have seen plastic
equivalents but asking around I've been told that the rats like to work
their teeth on them and they don't last long.

With the council ones 'round 'ere in Oxford, they're a thin plastic,
hinged at the back with metal wire twist to hold it together, don't get
mauled or munched but the rats love the taste of the blue pellets. You
can hear them giggling then they wonder what they were giggling about!

So it depends on how many rats you expect to have to deal with ;-). I've
done the "length of pipe" thing myself but then I've only had rats twice in
8 years and these were a result of building work on a local "river"
disturbing them, whereas I know people for whom rats are a perennial
problem.

Paul DS

The local rat man is in the same mind as you. Most of the people who
phone him were housewives who were influenced by the film 'Ben' so one
rat is too many. He leaves a trap, gives a few sympathetic nods of
agreement while not listening then leaves. We've got a small stream a
bit of a distance away (with orchards and allotments around that) so the
rats use that as a run.

One or two rats a year is no real bother but if it gets to a fast moving
brown carpet the thickness of the armies in 'The Mummy II' then get yer
gun and get the missus to warm up that sewing machine for that winter coat!

Richard.

--
Celebrate Eid Safely!

Don't leave cooking unattended.

Rats have recently discovered our compost heap, tunneling in overnight to get at the veg scraps.
I have taken to violently ramming a fork thru the compost daily, although this only got one.
My cat came in the house with one he had caught, and let it go. I managed to chase it into a small box with a broom. Box was placed in the garden and resized with a spade. Cats have also taken care of 2 more.
Havent seen them around for a while.
I didnt want the council involved as i dont want our cats eating poisened rat.

The message
from Richard Brooks contains these words:

The local rat man is in the same mind as you. Most of the people who
phone him were housewives who were influenced by the film 'Ben' so one
rat is too many. He leaves a trap, gives a few sympathetic nods of
agreement while not listening then leaves. We've got a small stream a
bit of a distance away (with orchards and allotments around that) so the
rats use that as a run.

Yes, they love streams. If you have a watercourse nearby, you have rats.

Much of the time.

One or two rats a year is no real bother but if it gets to a fast moving
brown carpet the thickness of the armies in 'The Mummy II' then get yer
gun and get the missus to warm up that sewing machine for that winter coat!

The only firing-points I have are upstairs windows and the roof of the
bathroom (AKA ablutions block).

There's a road to the front, a loke down one side, next-doors garden the
other, a driveway at the bottom, and some ground which belongs to a
neighbour with children beyond that.

Neighbours are too close to even think of a shotgun, and my air rifle
(AirArms 310 with its big scope) is the sort of thing which would
scramble a swat-squad if seen by a stranger and reported. ("There's a
man up on the roof of that place, and he's got a sniper rifle!")

As a result, I've only fired it on the premises once since I've been
there, but once was once too many for one rat...

--
Rusty
horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

On Tue, 18 Oct 2005 16:02:14 +0000, penance
wrote:

I have taken to violently ramming a fork thru the compost daily,
although this only got one.

Referring also to the Frog and Toad thread, you will see that they
like compost heaps. I was once moving some prunings, which had been
piled up for a while and stabbed a toad with the fork. The thing
squealed and so did I. So be careful when stabbing compost heaps.


Pam in Bristol

Should I be concerned? Do I need to call the council exterminator, or
maybe hire the neighbours Jack Russell?

you could always get a cat

--
Hayley
(gardening on well drained, alkaline clay in Somerset)